Thursday, May 17, 2012

Continued Shaving Of Dry Island

Recent rains in the region have continued to shave back our dry island. This week's drought monitor from NOAA and the University of Nebraska shows a substantial deduction on the percentage of abnormally dry and minor drought conditions in the Northeast.

Specifically, Pennsylvania saw a 50% cut in the portion of territory that was under abnormally dry or drought conditions. The only areas that are still under a dry spell in the state are in the eastern and southeastern corner -- around the Philly metro. In New Jersey, parts of the Pinelands were taken out of a "moderate drought" and merely placed in abnormally dry, with Delaware seeing a reduction in area that's in a severe drought from 40% to 23% in this week's report.

Keep in mind the report is based on soil and moisture conditions as of Tuesday morning...and since the region picked up additional rains in that timeframe it's pretty likely we'll see further reduction in areas that are considered in a dry spell or drought in next week's report.